ANAHEIM : Rams Call Time, Read to Small Fry

Los Angeles Rams tight end Damone Johnson spends his fall Sundays “reading” defenses, figuring out who to block and how to find room to catch a pass.

But on Wednesday, Johnson took some time to sit beneath a tree next to the Rams practice field and read the children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are” to 11 Anaheim Hills elementary and middle school students.

Johnson, defensive end Kevin Greene and center Tom Newberry were at Rams Park in Anaheim to kick off the Knudsen Reading Team program. Sponsored by the Knudsen Corp., the literacy program will use local libraries to distribute bookmarks, featuring photographs of Rams players, to children.

“We hope that the bookmarks will encourage children to read,” said Sharon Schecther, a Knudsen product manager. “On the back of the bookmarks is a suggested reading list and the idea is that the children will read those books before coming back to get another one.”

Johnson said he was taught the importance of reading at an early age.

“My mom began to teach me to read when I was 5 years old,” Johnson told the children. “At first, I remember thinking, ‘I’m never going to learn to read’ when I looked at all of the big words. But after a while, it got easy.”

Greene told the children that while it would appear that football players do not have to read as part of their jobs, they do.

“We receive a lot of material every week that we have to read to prepare for the next game,” Greene said. “We receive a game plan that describes the team we are going to play and their players. We have to understand the other team if we are going to beat that team.”

Newberry said his mother was a teacher and taught him to read. He said he read a lot of Westerns and the children’s story “Curious George.”

Howie Denmark, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at El Rancho Middle School, said he was impressed by the players.

“I thought all football players are dumb, but I learned that if you can’t read you can’t play,” he said.

Jeremy King, also a 13-year-old El Rancho eighth-grader, said he learned that reading is important, regardless what career one might choose.

“In every profession, in every job, if you’re going to be good you have to read,” he said.

The program is part of a larger campaign in which the company has also involved athletes from the San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers to help promote literacy among California youth.